RYE, N.Y. – Ralph Branca, the Brooklyn Dodgers pitcher who gave up the home run dubbed the “Shot Heard ‘Round the World,” has died at the age of 90.
Son-in-law Bobby Valentine, a former major league manager, says Branca died today at a nursing home in Rye.
Branca, a three-time All-Star, spent the first 11 seasons of his big-league career with the Dodgers. He also pitched for the Detroit Tigers in parts of the 1953 and 1954 seasons and the New York Yankees.
The home run that Branca gave up on Oct. 3, 1951, became one of the most famous in baseball history.